Summer Poached Figs With Ginger Recipes

POACHED FIGS IN SPICED HONEY SYRUP

Steps:

• Combine water, sugar and honey in heavy large skillet. Stir over low heat until sugar and honey dissolve. Add allspice, cloves and juniper berries. Bring to simmer. Add figs, cover and simmer until figs are just tender, about 20 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer figs to bowl. Chill until cold.
• Bring cooking liquid to boil. Boil until reduced to syrup consistency, about 5 minutes. Strain. Cool.
• Arrange figs in dessert goblets. Drizzle syrup over. Garnish with mint and serve.

SUMMER POACHED FIGS WITH GINGER

Steps:

• Dissolve the sugars in 2/3 cup water.
• Add the unpeeled figs to the hot syrup. Cover & simmer 30 minutes.
• Turn off heat & let sit covered 8 hours.
• Reheat to simmer, add julienned ginger & simmer covered 30 minutes until figs become translucent. Add optional Frangelica & simmer 5 minutes more.
• Let cool.
• Pack into quart or 1/2 gallon glass jars & refrigerate.

FIGS POACHED IN PORT

Steps:

• Combine the port sugar, vanilla pods and seeds, cinnamon, orange peel and peppercorns in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat. Simmer until the liquid has the consistency of a light syrup, about 20 minutes. You will have about 1 1/2 cups of syrup. Add the figs and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Turn off the heat and cool the figs in the syrup. Serve the figs in a bowl with their juices spooned over.

DRIED FRUIT POACHED IN PORT

Steps:

• Combine all the ingredients in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Turn the heat to very low and cover. Cook for about 30 minutes, at which point most of the port will have been absorbed.
• If the fruit is tender, it's done. If not, add 1/2 cup water, bring to a boil again, cover, and cook for another 15 minutes. Repeat once more if necessary.
• Remove the fruit with a slotted spoon, then strain the liquid to remove the spices. Serve a portion of the fruit warm, cold, or at room temperature with a spoonful or two of its juice.
• Substitute almost any sweet or neutral liquid for the port: water, oloroso sherry, red wine (add a tablespoon of sugar), sweet white wine, orange juice, and so on.
• If you prefer less-than-sweet results, add a squeeze of fresh lemon juice at the end of cooking.
• Vary the spices. Try a tiny grating of nutmeg in place of the allspice, peppercorns, and star anise, for example. Some coriander seeds are also nice.
• Since the preparation of this dish is absolutely foolproof, the challenge (and most of the fun) lies entirely in the shopping, especially since there is an incredible variety of dried fruits available, much of it of superhigh quality. In the course of fine-tuning this recipe, I tried not only the obvious prunes, figs, apricots, peaches, and pears, but also cherries, blueberries, strawberries, pineapple, and even banana. I tend toward the traditional but really enjoyed the tartness that dried pineapple added to the mixture and encourage you to experiment and find the mix of fruits that suits you best.

POACHED FRESH FIGS

Steps:

• Spread the sugar in the bottom of the pan, and pour in 1/2 cup water and the lemon juice. Set the figs in the pan, stem up, in one layer. Nestle the strips of lemon zest and the bay leaves in between the figs.
• Set the pan over low heat, and cook slowly until the sugar melts and the figs release their juices. As the juices rise in the pan, gradually raise the heat to keep them bubbling (and "galloping"). When the figs are soft and the liquid level comes halfway up their sides, in 30 minutes or more, turn off the heat, and let the figs rest in the pan for an hour or longer, to reabsorb some of the juices.
• Slowly heat the figs and juices until they're bubbling again, and cook for 30 minutes or so, until the figs are very soft (but still intact) and the juices have become thick and syrupy.
• Let the figs cool before serving. Arrange them in a serving dish if you like, with the syrup all around. Enjoy the fruit and syrup on their own, or atop vanilla ice cream, or with a soft, creamy cheese such as Taleggio or Robiola.

SPICED POACHED FIGS

Steps:

• Combine wine, sugar, lemon peel, peppercorns, cinnamon stick, bay leaves, thyme, ginger, star anise, and cardamom in a small, deep saucepan. Place pan over medium-high heat, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, and simmer 10 minutes. Cover, and simmer 20 minutes more.
• Add whole figs to the syrup; return to a simmer, cover, and poach gently until the figs are soft but not mushy, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer figs and syrup to a bowl, and let stand to cool, until no more steam rises. When cool, cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight.
• Combine mascarpone and confectioners' sugar in a medium mixing bowl. Slit vanilla bean lengthwise, and, using a small paring knife, scrape out the seeds into the bowl with the mascarpone mixture. Stir together with a spoon or rubber spatula until well combined.
• Remove chilled figs from the refrigerator, and let stand until room temperature. Transfer figs to another bowl, and strain syrup, discarding the solids.
• Place 2 figs, sliced in half, in the center of each plate. Spoon some of the poaching liquid to cover plate, and place a dollop of vanilla mascarpone next to figs.

GINGERED FIGS

Steps:

• Place figs and water in saucepan.
• Bring to hard boil, then lower heat and simmer.
• Cover figs and cook for 20 minutes.
• Add molasses, ginger and sugar.
• Stir gently in order to avoid breaking figs.
• Simmer for 15 minutes more or until figs are plumped and tender.
• Wonderful with meat or on their own!
• Makes 5 to 6 servings.

SPICED BAKED FIGS WITH GINGER MASCARPONE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Lay the figs in an ovenproof roasting dish, dot over the butter and drizzle with honey. Sprinkle over the sugar and cinnamon, then pour over the orange juice and mix lightly. Nestle the star anise amongst the figs and roast for 15-20 minutes.
• When ready to serve, mix the ginger and syrup through the mascarpone. Place 4 fig halves, drizzled with syrup, on a plate with a dollop of mascarpone and some shortbread fingers.

OVEN-POACHED FIGS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Put figs in an 8-inch square ceramic or glass baking dish. Pour port, wine, honey, and orange juice over figs. Submerge remaining ingredients in the liquid around figs. Cover dish with foil, and bake 1 hour.
• Remove foil; continue to bake 45 minutes more, basting 2 or 3 times with accumulated juices. Let cool completely, turning figs occasionally to keep moist.
• Transfer figs to a plate. Pour liquid through a fine sieve into a bowl; reserve for fig vinaigrette. Discard solids. Figs can be refrigerated in an airtight container up to 3 days.